Letters to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 5-21-20

Voting by absentee ballot in Connecticut

We are writing to commend Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill for her plan to enable all registered voters to vote by absentee ballot. If the plan goes through, all registered voters will be sent a notice of this possibility, and those interested will be able to send back to their local town hall their intention to vote by absentee ballot. Once the town clerk has processed their request, the voter will receive their ballot in the mail and either return it in a postage-paid envelope or use a drop box at town hall. 

Currently, Connecticut has strict laws regarding who can vote absentee.  To cast an absentee vote, one must be: an active member of the armed forces of the United States; be out of town during all the hours of voting on Election Day; have an illness, physical disability, or religious belief that makes it impossible to vote in person on Election Day; or perform duties as an election official at another polling place during all the hours of voting on Election Day. 

Denise Merrill’s office has issued an interpretation of Connecticut’s absentee ballot law allowing any voter with a “pre-existing illness, including a chronic health condition or possible exposure to COVID-19, to vote by absentee ballot during the current pandemic.” (Quoted from the Journal Inquirer, article by Alex Wood, May 11, 2020, www.journalinquirer.com.) If and when this interpretation is accepted (probably by an Executive Order from Governor Lamont), the office of the Secretary of the State will send out information on mail-in voting, both for the Aug. 11 primaries and for the Nov. 3 presidential election.   

Please stay tuned; this is an important election!

Carol Ascher and
Marel Rogers

Sharon

Support area restaurants 

As our local restaurants and businesses start to reopen in the coming weeks and months, they will depend on their loyal customers returning so that they can hire staff and provide the services we value so much.  

There will be a trying transition period, for owners, employees and customers alike. To promote this, I suggest that merchants start issuing debit cards, usable either at their own establishments or at all businesses in Salisbury.  

These will provide businesses with badly needed cash up front, so that shops and restaurants can regain a more secure financial footing — enabling them to restock inventory and bring more employees back to work more quickly.

Residents could purchase these cards for varying amounts, and use them at their discretion, knowing that by doing so they are  making an important investment in the future of our village.

John V H Dippel

Salisbury

Gratitude for service to others

As we begin to prepare for Memorial Day, Noble Horizons would like to recognize and thank the exceptional heroes who honor and serve our nation and communities. May 17-23 is National EMS (Emergency Medical Services) week and this Monday is Memorial Day, one of the most revered dates on our calendar.

Leading a life of service demands constant and rigorous training, unimaginable sacrifices, and a deep commitment to duty, regardless of the dangers.  We are humbled and grateful to these courageous heroes who work selflessly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to protect and safeguard us. Especially in the absence of Memorial Day parades at which we traditionally honor EMS professionals and veterans, Noble Horizons is proud to spotlight many of these remarkable men and women on our blog and Facebook page this week.

We offer our deepest gratitude for their esteemed service and inspiring commitment to making our world, our nation and our communities safer.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Caroline Burchfield

Noble Horizons

Salisbury

Looking forward to change

I despair for our country

It changed abruptly

The stable idiot made it so

With his ramblings to and fro

Constantly on TV

Showing he’s always at sea

Never seeing the damage he’s causing

His words turning and tossing

Like COVID it also shall pass

Remember Presidents with class

When his turn is up the police will come

And the citizens won’t be so glum!

Michael Kahler

Lakeville

Thanks to first responders

I am writing to recognize the responsiveness and service of the teams from the Salisbury Transfer Station, Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Squad, Northern Dutchess Paramedics and Sharon Hospital Emergency Department who assisted me the weekend of May 9 and 10. At a time when medical providers are under more stress than ever, their professionalism and commitment to community service stands out. Thank you. 

David Bright

Salisbury

Finger pointing is not helping the tough situation we’re all in

When my husband and I moved to Sharon, 15 years ago, we were amazed at the way we were welcomed and drawn into the Northwest Corner. Almost immediately, we met so many great people and became immersed in community activities. 

So it has been with surprise and chagrin that I have read and listened to the hostility accorded to those with “second homes” or “out of towners” who are being blamed for all manner of things. I read a recent letter suggesting that the reason toilet paper isn’t always available locally (although, realistically this is a nationwide phenomenon fueled by the media) is probably because of people with second homes and their guests hoarding it. 

Really? We are encouraged by everyone, from the CDC to our local government, to stay home and not shop as often. The supply chain, while adapting to new systems, is still working, although at a different pace, with toilet paper arriving regularly, if not often enough, in the markets. (It takes up a lot of space on grocery shelves so it is rarely overstocked, and people are home all the time, so home usage is greater.) 

Things are different, but not because of hoarders or selfishness. Quite the reverse. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic of extreme seriousness, and it has shifted everyone’s way of life, almost everywhere. Yes, there are more people here than usual at this time of year.  Every driveway is full of cars here in the Northwest Corner, because college students and young adults are suddenly back with their parents, and because so many people I know in this area have welcomed friends and family who have nowhere else to go. 

Life isn’t necessarily easy in these full households, at a time when we all have to stay home. It’s not a house party. It takes a lot of work and a lot of planning, and figuring out how to get along. But I am proud that we are that kind of generous community, whether we live here full time or not, where we take others in, where we open our homes and our hearts to the world. 

We are all afraid and anxious, but blaming and finger pointing can only exacerbate that anxiety. The antagonist we are all dealing with is a virus that brought about a pandemic that has affected life in every corner of the world. Not our neighbors in this wonderful community.

Alexandra Peters

Sharon

Reflecting on better times, new meaning

With everyone on pause yet with options to create a “new normal” regarding living one’s life by socializing more in public (still with masks until further notice), I thought I’d ask a question instead of sharing the things I find helpful (and which of course are mainly covered on my blog Livfully.org) So what does “Live Fully” mean to you? Consider your idea of Living Fully Pre-CV19, during the public regulation period, and as the restrictions lift?

You can also back that up in time to reflect highlights of your youth and times with special people whether family, school friends, being part of groups in person or even online since that’s become more mainstream. 

Focusing on what we want and doing more of that even if journaling about it, reviewing pictures and stories and creating the next versions can be empowering for not only individuals but groups, towns and states.

 Leaning into a sense of shared meaning and networking, matching skills with needs and finding ways to create those connections (possibly with help from others) is what may contribute to growth and progress. Healing from difficulties may seem like treading water, but valuing one’s insights, small steps forward and others who have also struggled as well as those helping people can put one back in the flow of a good life. How we define things, whether we have enough information or feel things may be a work in progress, will color our worldviews.

 If you find one good idea or resource (even from Livfully.org), local papers and programs or those online or farther away, that makes it valuable not only to yourself but those who you share it with or benefit from it. Many know of AARP and may feel we need a version of These Corona Times to map out how to recover or readjust to not only what we’ve gone through but what is to come, good, bad or otherwise. 

Some say we are evolving with love due to help from on high, including solar flares exuding certain energy (I know that sounds weird, but think of the “Here Comes The Sun” Beatles’ song and the tag line, “it’s alright” to think positively. As we think so it may turn out is wisdom from Edgar Cayce and many others, “we reap what we sow” with our thoughts, feelings, words, connections, actions individually and collectively.

If you are up for sharing feel free to email me at thinkingkapp@gmail.com or calling 347-471-9209 and if you like I can share ideas anonymously or with your name on Livfully.org. Everyone with good will gets and A for Effort and Being Here Now to take the next steps together. We can learn from everything and work to make things a bit better as we live fully on our one plan-it earth. So, what does Live Fully mean to you, to us and everybuddy?

Catherine Palmer Paton

Falls Village